Happy Father's Day!

We were given an incredible, priceless gift while we were in Ethiopia. It came out in our meeting with our kids birth mother (Lekera) that a picture existed of their birth father (who passed away in April 2009). The picture was with some other family member about an hour away from where we were in Addis Ababa. I was amazed that if a picture existed, it was not with Lekera and our kids...they lived 6 hours away from Addis. Lekera wanted T and M to have the picture, but we did not know how to go about getting it. Without our knowledge, the incredible employee from our agency AWAA who translated during our time with Lekera went on his own time to try to retrieve the picture. He surprised us with the photo just a short time before we left Ethiopia to come home. I was amazed at the gift we had been given...it is not common for photos to exist...especially of people who live in the extremely rural areas of Ethiopia!!!


We just got finished showing the picture to T and M for the first time. We thought showing it to them on Father's Day would be a great way to honor, Getu Seta...their birth father. They were so happy to see him! T*n***e held the picture and said, "I lub" ("I love"). T and M quickly ran the pictures (we made one copy for each of them) to their rooms and put the pictures next to their beds...and next to the pictures of their birth mother, Lekera.


So on this very special FATHER'S DAY, I want to say, "I love you", to my incredible husband, Ken. You are the best Daddy I could ever imagine for our children. However, I also want to say, "thank you", to Getu Seta...thank you for helping to give T and M life. They are a precious gift! May you rest peacefully in Heaven with our greatest Father!!!

Getu Seta

Home TWO Months!!!

Time is flying by as we head into the summer! Our adoption story continues to be a fairy tale as we continue to grow together as a family of 6! T*n***e and M**l*****m continue to amaze us! They are 2 truly incredible, strong, well-adjusted, kind, smart, and super fun kiddos!!!! I can't wait to enjoy the summer months together....

T*n***e:
This has been another great month! You have grown so much more affectionate with me and Daddy. You will spontaneously tell us you love us and ask for hugs and kisses on the lips through out the day. You have been fairly reserved with your affections until a few weeks ago, so it is wonderful to see you reaching out to us for lovin' now. You are learning English so fast and devour letter tracing worksheets!

Here are some highlights of your 2nd Month:
-You are officially signed up to start school in September! You were assessed by teachers at the school and they both said you are incredibly sweet!
-You went swimming for the first time and had a blast! Although you were shivering and cold, you did not want to stop!
-Your English is coming along SUPER fast. You are already able to put several short sentences together. While playing with something at church I heard you say to Xavier, “Come on Xavier. Wait…Let me show you how to do it.”…I was shocked!
-You have really warmed up to Xavier and ask about him during the day when he is at school. You also are more affectionate toward him…which just makes him melt! He loves you so much!
-We are having to put some boundaries in place to balance your helpful nature and your desire to be the “Mom” in our house.
-You went to your first birthday party for your friend, Jessica. It was quite the party with 2 bounce houses, a caricature artist, a scientist show, a clown, craft station, etc… You fit right in and had a wonderful time!
-You understand routine very well and are able to recite our nightly schedule: pee-pee, pajamas, brush teeth, read Bible, pray, night-night.
-You said your first prayer that came from your own desire (instead of the prayers we always do at meal time and bed time). I was not feeling well and you came up to me and said, “Dear God, to Mama feel better. In Jesus name, Amen.”…so cute!
-You continue to express your new love of fashion and enjoy putting your own outfits together.
-You can quote the show "Yo Gabba Gabba" and like to add your own dance segment. You say, "My name is Tensaye and I like to dance"...an adaptation of a well known line from the show!!!
-Your favorite topic to pray for at night is your little sister, Faith.
-You are very confident and secure in who you are. You have no problem expresses likes, dislikes, wants, needs, etc..  

 
M*l******m:
I am so happy that you have spent WAY less time in time-out this month compared to last month!!! You are catching on to your new world with boundaries and rules. You are really settling in and are a true sweet-heart.

Here are some highlights of your 2nd Month:
-You went swimming for the first time! Since you sort of have a “no fear” attitude, we had to watch you closely…you had so much fun!!!
-We took you to the zoo this month! Although you did not enjoy walking around so much, you were really proud to shout out the names of the animals you know along with their animal sound. "Oh Mama, lion...Roooooaarrrrrrr!"
-You really want to do whatever your older brother and sister to and get upset if you can’t have the same privileges they have.
-You love wearing zip-up pajama’s with the built in feet…even though we are starting the summer and the pajamas make you sweat like a crazy man!!!
-You are much more calm when it comes to food and eating. The food obsession we thought was starting to develop is just about gone! This is a great thing!!!
-You can speak in short sentences. Last month you would say, “Mama, eat”…when you wanted to eat something. This month you have started saying, “Mama, I want to eat, please.” We are so proud of you!
-Your pronunciation of words continues to need some work, but we have some really adorable video clips of your words! Our favorite includes your attempt to say "Gorilla"..."Ga-Billa!".
-Your favorite topic at prayer time is dinosaurs.